


Under the Light of a Thousand Stars

by posiepark



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, amusement park au, fuck raf lives, it's what we deserve, posie has my heart wbk, y'all needed a break from the angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 03:13:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17480138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/posiepark/pseuds/posiepark
Summary: The students of The Salvatore Boarding School go to a carnival.  Raf promises Josie that they'd go on the ferris wheel together but while she waits in line he leaves to get food and doesn't come back.  Just as Josie's about to go on the ride alone, Penelope jumps into the two-seater gondola with her.





	Under the Light of a Thousand Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Can y'all believe I actually wrote something other than angst? 
> 
> Yeah neither.
> 
> Hope you enjoy.
> 
> \- J

Josie should've known.

When Raf promised that he'd ride the ferris wheel with her, she should've known he wasn't being serious. Now here she is, alone at the end of the line of the way-too-overrated carnival ride, shivering as the breeze of the summer night brushes against her. Josie considers leaving, to save herself the embarrassment of going alone, but she had waited at least an hour for this ride, so that time was not going to waste. Sighing deeply, Josie makes her way to the two-seater gondola once it was finally her turn.

"Just by yourself?" the ride operator frowned.

"Apparently so," Josie mumbles back as she slumps against the seat of the gondola, head facing down whilst her hands are stuffed inside the pockets of her jacket.

Just as the ride operator was about to close the door of the gondola, Josie's body stiffens at a familiar voice.

"Have space for one more?"

Staying silent, Josie keeps her head down, praying that the ride operator would get the hint and deny the other girl's request. Her prayers hadn't been answered because next thing she knows, Josie is struck by the smell of expensive Givenchy perfume, a well known scent of vanilla mixed with marshmallows that still lingers in certain items of clothing in Josie's closet.

Still not glancing up, Josie senses the other girl's presence as she sits beside her. No words are yet exchanged, and Josie certainly has not even spared a glimpse towards her ex-lover. The mechanical humming of the machine echoes, indicating that the ferris wheel was beginning to move. Josie is surprised that the girl beside her hasn't spoken a word yet, and she isn't quite too sure whether to be thankful or concerned.

Penelope Park _always_ knew what to say. Whether it was a witty comeback, or words of comfort (which really only happened for Josie), whatever the situation, she'd always have an abundance of words to spill. That is, until now.

Penelope doesn't know if it's the fact that this is the first time since the kiss that they are finally within speaking distance of each other, or the fact that Josie is finally by her side, looking as beautiful as ever, underneath the glow of tonight's moonlight. Either way, Penelope is speechless.

Admiring Josie's side profile, a small smile appears on Penelope's face as she sees Josie's internal struggle to not look at her.

"I can feel you staring at me," Josie whispers in an ever-so-soft voice, eyes still focused elsewhere. "Stop it."

Penelope smirks but keeps her mouth shut, still refusing to utter out a word, and turns her head away. From the corner of her eye, Penelope discerns a sudden movement. Now, Josie is staring at her. Penelope waits for a while, anticipating if Josie's stare would redirect elsewhere, but it doesn't.

"I can feel you staring at me," Penelope mimics with a small smirk on her face. "Stop it."

Penelope turns to face the girl beside her and finally, the two of them are making eye contact. A red tint is evident in Josie's cheeks, probably due to the the fact that Penelope had caught her staring, but she can't bring herself to look away. Green orbs with a hint of gold specks. Josie is familiar with Penelope's eyes, after all, she had always found herself drawing them in her notebook during times when she was bored in class. Shaking the memories off, Josie's features shape into a frown.

"You were staring first."

A look of amusement appears on Penelope's face and Josie realises how childish she had just sounded. She turns away and sinks further down in her seat, internally promising herself that she was not going to open her mouth until the ride had finished.

They're a quarter way around the ferris wheel by now, and Penelope is still silent. Josie wonders if this is what it's going to be like for the rest of the ride. If it was, then she definitely wouldn't mind, for maybe it would spare her from saying something that she shouldn't.

The evening air is distinctly colder up where they are and Josie is grateful that she chose to wear jeans and a jacket today, along with some long sleeves underneath. Penelope, on the other hand, was more unfortunate. Although she too was wearing jeans, her only other item of clothing was a crop top.

Josie watches as the older girl rubs her arms in an attempt to keep warm.

"You know, I really wouldn't mind right now if you set me on fire again," Penelope quips with playfulness in her voice.

Josie rolls her eyes but a small smile makes its way to her lips.

"That can be arranged," Josie responds back.

Penelope raises her eyebrow at Josie's response, clearly a little shocked. Honestly, she really thought that the other girl would just roll her eyes and ignore her, like she usually does. This was a nice change.

"I am sorry about that, by the way," Josie confesses timidly. "I didn't know what I was thinking."

"I think I have an idea," Penelope replies with a knowing look on her face. "But it's okay."

A comfortable silence falls between the two girls. By now they've reached the peak of the ferris wheel, and the wind is colder than ever. Penelope shivers as a gush of wind blows past them, rocking the gondola back and forth. Without thinking, Josie begins to unzip her jacket, and once unzipped, takes it off.

"Uhh, what are you doing?" Penelope asks in a tone of confusion.

Josie doesn't reply but instead hands her jacket to the other girl. Raising her eyebrows with a teasing look on her face, Penelope opens her mouth so say something, but Josie beats her to it.

"Shut up," she mumbles, as she pulls the sleeves of her long sleeve shirt over her hands.

"I didn't say anything," Penelope chuckles.

"Who even wears a _crop_ _top_ to a carnival?" Josie scoffs.

Penelope brushes off Josie's comment and proceeds to wear the jacket given to her, not being able to handle the coldness anymore. The jacket fits perfectly on her. Although the other girl was slightly taller, Josie was quite slim, which allowed her and Penelope to share clothes when they were still together. Josie glances at Penelope who was finally all warm and cozy in her jacket and looks away when Penelope catches her eyes. One thing, however, that Josie never liked about sharing clothes with Penelope, was the fact that somehow, Penelope would look ten times better in them than she would. Josie shakes her head. This was the third time tonight she'd thought of past memories with her ex.

"Thanks," Penelope utters with a soft smile.

"Well it was either that or setting you on fire again," Josie replies. "I figured you wouldn't want the latter."

Penelope shakes her head in disbelief. Josie's mind is brought back to last week. More specifically, the night of her birthday. The moment of weakness that had resulted in her lips attaching themselves to Penelope's. The two hadn't spoken about it since then. In fact, they really haven't spoken at all.

"Penelope, about that night..." Josie begins, as an attempt to finally get the confrontation out of the way.

"We don't have to talk about it if you're not ready," the other girl says in a gentle voice. "I know that where we are right now might make it seem like we have to talk about it, but I don't want you to feel pressured to say anything."

Josie sighs in relief, thankful for the fact that Penelope wasn't in a rush to get any words about that kiss from her. Truth be told, she really still doesn't know what to feel.

So instead, Penelope changes the topic.

"So how come you were about to go on the ride alone?" she asks.

Josie debates whether or not to reveal the fact that she was originally supposed to go with Raf, but decides against it. She wasn't in the mood to feel annoyed, and talking about him _definitely_ does the trick.

"Maybe I just wanted some alone time," Josie replies, unable to think of anything else to say. "What about you, why are you here?"

"This is my favourite carnival ride," Penelope states, not even having to think of her response.

"And you decided to go on it right at the end of the night?" the other girl questions. "Saving the best for last huh?"

"In a way, yes," Penelope answers as she turns her body so that she was now facing Josie properly. "But I would've gone earlier if I hadn't been so afraid of asking the girl I wanted to go on it with."

A blush comes to Josie's cheeks. She wasn't even sure if the girl that Penelope was talking about was her, but by the look on the other girl's face, she knew that Penelope was indeed talking about her.

"You didn't have to be afraid," Josie whispers shyly. "I would've said yes."

"What?" Penelope says with a frown on her face. "I wasn't talking about you."

In that moment, Josie was ready to jump off the ferris wheel. She stays quiet as she feels her face heating up and looks over the safety bars, seriously analysing whether or not she would survive if she jumped.

Penelope's laughter then rings in her ears. Josie strays her focus from over the safety bars and looks towards the girl laughing next to her.

"I was kidding," Penelope grins, still slightly chuckling from Josie's reaction.

"I hate you," the other girl grumbles, the feeling of embarrassment still lingering on her.

"I know," replies Penelope with a wink.

Josie groans and places her arms on top of the safety bars, and then buries her face in them. Penelope Park _seriously_ knew how to get on her nerves. Josie suddenly feels a soft touch rest upon her shoulder. She doesn't move, worried that any movement would cause the hand that was resting there to shift away.

"I was going to ask you," Penelope confesses. "But I had a feeling we'd end up here together anyway, one way or another. And I was right."

Josie finally lifts her head up from her arms and sits up straight. Penelope's hand is no longer on her shoulder but placed on her own lap. Josie misses the slight contact but ignores it.

"So what? You think fate put us on this ferris wheel together?" Josie asks.

Penelope shifts her position and leans back against her seat, all while Josie stares at her every move.

"Yeah," Penelope replies after a while as she tilts her head towards the night sky. "I do."

Now it's Josie's turn to be speechless. She keeps her eyes fixated on the charming girl next to her and a feeling of euphoria courses through her body. Josie doesn't know if it's the fact that Penelope believes that fate would always bring them together, or the fact that she knows that Penelope can't stay away from her, just as she can't stay away from Penelope, which makes the beating of her heart hasten.

"You believe in fate?" Josie questions, still staring intensely at the girl who was looking at the stars.

"I didn't," the other girl replies. "Till I met you."

Before had the chance to say something back, Penelope continues.

"I know it sounds cliché," she begins. "But you changed me."

"Obviously not that much since you're still a bitch," Josie replies without thinking.

As soon as the words come out of her mouth, Josie's eyes widen and she internally curses herself for being so harsh. Out of all the things that she could've said, it had to be that.

"Wait, I'm sorry, that was mean," she apologises to the girl beside her.

Josie turns to look at Penelope and though she tries so hard to distinguish the look on her face, she couldn't. She never really could tell what Penelope was thinking at times. Right now being one of them.

"I'm only a bitch when I don't get what I want, you know that," Penelope finally replies. "And since I lost the only thing I've ever really wanted, my mood has gone a bit sour."

Josie knew what Penelope was talking about. Ever since the break-up, she had noticed the more-than-usual spitefulness of the other girl. To others it may have seemed like normal Penelope Park behaviour, but Josie knew the difference.

But even though to everyone else, Penelope was the evil queen, she always had a soft spot for Josie. And Josie also knew that, which is why she fell for Penelope in the first place. Besides the dark-haired girl's beauty and charm, Penelope made Josie feel special; put her first before anything; gave her a voice, and made her feel like she mattered, even though the whole world was telling her otherwise.

"I'm sure you'll get whatever you lost back," Josie says in a hushed tone, barely loud enough for Penelope to hear.

But Penelope heard. Loud and clear. So she smiles for what seemed like the hundredth time since getting on the ride.

"I hope so," she responds.

The ferris wheel had done a full 360 turn by now, indicating that they've been on the ride for about ten minutes. It's supposed to go for two full rounds, so this meant that the pair had another ten minutes together.

About two minutes pass before Penelope has the sudden urge to do something. She glances over to the small, empty space between Josie and her, and spots what she was looking for; Josie's hand.

Penelope thoroughly thinks through all the possible scenarios that would result in her grabbing a hold of the other girl's hand.

One. Either Josie could freeze at her touch, freak out, and pull away.

Two. Josie wouldn't pull away but she wouldn't make any effort to intertwine their fingers which would lead to a much more awkward and embarrassing situation.

Or three. Penelope's little daydream of her and Josie holding hands on a ferris wheel under the light of a thousand stars, comes true.

_Just hold her damn hand._ Penelope thinks to herself. _You've done this a million times before._

Gaining all the courage she could get, the nervous girl takes a deep breath.

_Fuck it._ She voices internally. _It's now or never._

But before she could make a move, Penelope feels soft and delicate fingers slip in between hers.

She looks down at her right hand only to see that they were intertwined with the other girl's. Her heart thumps against her chest as she looks up to Josie's gentle face.

"You were taking too long," the girl chuckles.

Penelope loved that; Josie doing what she wants unapologetically.

Shifting her arm so that she was in a more comfortable position, Penelope adjusts her grip around Josie's hand till they moulded perfectly together.

Once again, they had ended up at the summit of the ferris wheel and it was as if the temperature dropped even more than before. Penelope was seriously thankful that Josie had brought a jacket.

A few more moments of silence passes before one of the two speaks up.

"I'm sorry," Penelope says out of the blue whilst her thumb stroked Josie's.

"For what?" replies Josie, genuinely confused.

"For never being worthy of you," Penelope confesses, a sad look evident in her face. "You deserved someone so much more than me."

Josie doesn't reply immediately, still thinking of the right words to say to the girl beside her. Truth be told, it was Josie herself who never felt worthy of the popular and way-too-intimidating girl, so this definitely was news to her.

Deciding to make another bold move, Josie closes the space between them and rests her head sideways on Penelope's shoulder. Their hands are still intertwined and Josie can once again smell the scent of Penelope's sweet perfume.

Penelope, on the other hand, was finding it quite difficult to keep her cool right now, which was totally out of character.

"Maybe I did deserve someone else," Josie admits.

At Josie's words, Penelope turns her head away which causes Josie to lift her head from the other girl's shoulder. The fact that Josie admitted that maybe she wasn't the one for Penelope was enough to bring tears to her eyes. But she was _not_ going to cry in front of Josie. That would be embarrassing.

Josie however, brings her hand to Penelope's cheek, and turns her face so that she was facing her. She notices the forming glossiness of the other girl's eyes and she feels a tug in her heart. Josie decides to put Penelope out of her misery.

"But I've always wanted you," she adds, smiling at the older girl who looked like a kicked puppy. "It never mattered who I did or didn't deserve."

Right then, right now, Penelope could swear that her heart stopped. The feeling of sadness in her is quickly replaced with pure bliss, and she mirrors the same smile worn by the other girl.

"Don't look at me like that," Josie shyly says when Penelope still hadn't said anything prior to her confession.

"I always look at you like this," counters Penelope.

Josie rolls her eyes, amusement written in her face and places herself back in her previous position; her head resting on Penelope's shoulder, and their fingers interlocked.

This was nice. The two of them, feeling as if they're on top of the world together, nothing to disrupt the energy between them. Josie wishes that it could always be like this again.

Under the light of a thousand stars, with the girl she loves, Penelope silently makes a wish.

_A second chance_.

Closing her eyes, Penelope breathes in the cool air of the night sky, repeating the three words over and over again in her head.

For the rest of the ride, the two girls don't utter a word, just enjoying each other's presence and the intimacy between them.

They finally reach the end of the ride and before they know it, the ride operator was ushering them out of the gondola.

Penelope misses the feeling of Josie's hand in hers so while they walk down the stairs of the ride, she reaches out to grab her hand.

But before she could reach out to hold onto them, an irritating voice makes its presence.

"Josie, there you are. I'm so sorry, the line at the food place was so long."

Rafael Waithe.

Josie turns to face the boy who was carrying candy floss in one hand and a corndog in the other.

"We can go on the ride now if you want," he continues, paying no attention to Penelope whatsoever.

Penelope glances at Josie who had a look on her face as if she's just been caught red-handed.

_Oh._ Penelope thinks to herself, putting the pieces together.   _She was meant to go on the ferris wheel with Raf._

Before she could listen to anything else the other two were about to say, Penelope walks away, a feeling of defeat lingering in her.

_Of course._ She thinks to herself. Fate hadn't put them on the ferris wheel together. It was because Raf was a careless boy who had no concept of time and thought food was more important than Josie.

Looking up at the stars, she walks further away from the two, internally cursing herself for thinking that a stupid wish would even come true.

"A second chance, my ass," she mumbles, still very annoyed... and still obviously hurt.

Penelope doesn't think it was possible to despise someone so much. Lizzie was bad, but for Penelope, she was tolerable. Raf, on the other hand, was a whole different story. Penelope doesn't know if it's the fact that he came to the school out of nowhere, thinks he's better than everyone else and suddenly became the alpha, or the fact that maybe he was a new barrier between Josie and herself.

She decides it's probably the latter. Anything that causes a rift between her and Josie would always anger her.

Penelope doesn't bother to look back, not wanting to see Josie get on the ferris wheel with Raf, just like how she and Josie had previously done.

"So do you like rollercoasters as well? Or are you strictly a boring-amusement-park-ride kind of girl?"

Penelope freezes. Not sure if she's hearing things or if Josie was actually speaking.

Noticing a figure appear by her side, her heart rate quickens. It was Josie.

Turning to face the girl, Penelope sees Josie with a genuine look of interest in her face, still clearly waiting for an answer.

She smiles.

"I'm many things," Penelope grins. "But boring is definitely not one of them."

"Oh?" Josie replies, raising an eyebrow.

Penelope lets out a chuckle and directs her vision elsewhere, a feeling of overwhelming happiness running through her body.

"Yeah," she responds.

The two then walk in the direction of the rollercoaster, both their hands swinging by their sides.

"So why aren't you on the ferris wheel with wolfie right now?" Penelope asks.

There were many reasons why Josie didn't want to go on the ride with Raf, one being that she _really_ couldn't stand being on the same ride for another 20 minutes, let alone with him. But Josie knew the main reason why.

"Let's just say I made a wish to spend this night with someone," Josie reveals. "And it _definitely_ wasn't him."

"Who then?" Penelope smirks, even though she had a pretty good idea what Josie's answer would be.

"Just some girl," Josie replies, looking straight ahead in the direction of the next ride they were heading towards.

Not being able to resist anymore, Penelope grabs a hold of Josie's hand, missing the warmth that comes from them, and intertwines their fingers.

"Just some girl?" Penelope repeats, faking offence.

"Yup, just some girl," says Josie again.

"Well, that girl is very lucky," Penelope states, fully knowing she was talking about herself.

Josie finally glances over at Penelope, a tender look of affection visible on her face.

"Yeah she is," the brown eyed girl speaks. "But I like to think I'm luckier."


End file.
